On April 30, the Nuggets faced the challenge of the Trail Blazers at home.
The first round process of the two teams was completely different. The Trail Blazers did not encounter much trouble in the first round and eliminated the Thunder 4-1. The Nuggets encountered big troubles and fought with the Spurs in a life-or-death tiebreaker, and finally passed with difficulty.
The Trail Blazers have had a long break, while the Nuggets have only had two days of rest. Fortunately, the Nuggets have a home court advantage and do not have to travel long distances. The Trail Blazers only decided to go to the Denver Plateau after the Nuggets succeeded in the tiebreaker.
In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Trail Blazers 121-113 at home, leading the game 1-0 with a total score.
Nikola Jokic scored 37 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Jamal Murray had 23 points and 8 assists, Paul Millsap had 19 points and 6 rebounds, and Gary Harris had 11 points.
The Trail Blazers fell short. Damian Lillard had 39 points and 6 assists, Yoenis Kanter had 26 points and 7 rebounds, and CJ McCollum had 16 points. Rodney Hood came off the bench with 17 points.
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On May 2, the Nuggets will continue to face the Trail Blazers at home.
In this game, both teams focused on the defensive end, and the score was very low.
In the end, the Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets 97:90 in an away game, tying the series to 1:1.
The stars of both teams performed poorly. Lillard made 5 of 17 shots and only scored 14 points. McCollum made 8 of 20 shots and scored 20 points.
For the Nuggets, Jokic made 7 of 17 shots and scored 16 points. Murray made 6 of 18 shots and scored 15 points.
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On May 4, the Trail Blazers faced the challenge of the Nuggets at home.
The Nuggets are a team with good shooting ability, but they kept "strengthening" in the last game and only scored 90 points in the end. It is not surprising that they lost to the Trail Blazers.
The Nuggets shot 50.5% in the first game, but only 34.7% in the last game. They made only 6 of 29 three-pointers, and the shooting percentage was only 20.7%. Even the free throw percentage was only 61%.
The Trail Blazers' defensive improvement is also a reason. They successfully restricted Jokic in the last game, and coach Terry Stotts was very satisfied. However, they were grabbed 23 offensive rebounds by the Nuggets, which was intolerable to Stotts.
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Both teams needed to make adjustments. This game was a close game and it took 3 overtimes to decide the winner.
The Blazers' home court was different. Every time they took possession of the ball after the start, the fans shouted wildly, as if they were launching a 15-0 attack wave. In fact, the two sides had been playing in a stalemate.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Trail Blazers only led 12-9. The Nuggets once led 17-16, but did not score a point in the last 2 minutes and 49 seconds of the quarter. The Trail Blazers scored 7 points in a row to end the quarter, leading 23-17.
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The Nuggets' shooting percentage was not high. It took nearly three minutes in the second quarter before they made their first shot. The Trail Blazers expanded their advantage 29-19. Beasley, who came off the bench, was in good form. The Nuggets gradually recovered their touch and counterattacked vigorously.
With 2 minutes and 46 seconds left in this quarter, Murray hit a three-pointer, and the Nuggets led 41-39. McCollum responded with a three-pointer, and the Trail Blazers took the lead again. It was difficult to tell the difference between the two sides. At the end of the half, the Nuggets
Only 1 point behind 47-48.
The Nuggets shot 38.3% in the first half and made 5 of 16 three-pointers. Murray scored 16 points. Jokic was in average form and made 4 turnovers, but headed towards a triple-double, scoring 6 points and 7 rebounds.
and 5 assists.
The Trail Blazers shot 37.2% from the field and made only 3 of 13 three-pointers. Lillard scored 10 points and McCollum scored 9 points.
Just like in the last game, the Nuggets successfully restricted Lillard in the first half and prevented him from scoring too many points. Fortunately, Kanter performed well in the paint. In the third quarter, he made several baskets and even made a shot.
With a three-pointer, the Blazers were able to withstand the Nuggets' counterattack.
The Nuggets led 62-59 halfway through the quarter. Kanter scored 3 points in a row. The Trail Blazers went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead. The Trail Blazers scored 33 points in this quarter and ended the first three quarters 81-76.
Jokic also found a feeling in the third quarter, making 6 of 8 shots and scoring 17 points in a single quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets did not dare to let Jokic rest. He led the team to fight back tenaciously and tied several times. There are still more in this quarter
At 2 minutes and 47 seconds, Murray hit a mid-range shot and the Nuggets led 97-95. After the Trail Blazers missed a shot, Murray hit another three-pointer. After nearly a quarter of silence, Murray broke out and the Nuggets led by 100.
-95 leads.
Harkless responded with a three-pointer, and then he succeeded at the basket and caused a foul. Although he missed the extra free throw, he still tied the score. After gaining a 5-point advantage, the Nuggets missed consecutive shots and made mistakes. In this quarter,
With 31.6 seconds left, Lillard succeeded in the mid-range shot, and the Trail Blazers scored 7 points in a row, leading 102-100.
The Nuggets played a beautiful sideline ball tactic, and Barton quickly succeeded at the basket. The whole process only took 3 seconds to tie the score. After the Trail Blazers missed a key shot, the Nuggets called a timeout with 1.8 seconds left in the quarter.
The final attack was arranged. Unfortunately, the ball was intercepted after serving, and the two sides entered overtime.
With 3 minutes and 07 seconds left in the first overtime, McCollum hit a key three-pointer, and the Trail Blazers scored 5 points in a row to lead 107-104.
Murray received a pass from Jokic and also hit a three-pointer. The two sides were tied again. The two sides fought until the last second. With 11.8 seconds left in this quarter, Lillard launched a fast break after stealing the ball, but unfortunately missed the layup.
, but Aminu grabbed an offensive rebound and McCollum hit a shot, bringing the score to 109-109. The Nuggets missed the last attack and entered overtime.
The two teams were tied several times in the second overtime. The Trail Blazers led 116-111 at most, but the Nuggets pursued tenaciously. At 5.7 seconds into this quarter, the two sides formed a competition for the ball. After the Trail Blazers grabbed the ball, they called
After a timeout, they still had 4 seconds to attack. Lillard missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the two teams entered the third overtime 118-118.
In the middle of the third overtime, McCollum showed his strength and hit two consecutive long-range shots in 29 seconds. One of them crossed the line. He scored 5 points in a row. The Blazers led 125-121. Jokic responded with a hook shot.
, Patton and Murray caused fouls one after another and each made two free throws. The Nuggets scored 6 points in a row and surpassed again 127-125.
Lillard missed a key three-pointer. Although he grabbed an offensive rebound, McCollum was intercepted. With 32.2 seconds left in this quarter, Millsap turned around and hit a mid-range shot. The Nuggets led 129-125.
Lillard finally scored 2 points under the basket, and then they caused a mistake by Murray. With 18 seconds left in this quarter, the Trail Blazers got the ball. Lillard made another layup, and the two sides battled to 129-129.
The Nuggets had 8.4 seconds left. Murray missed a three-pointer at the last moment, and the fourth overtime came.
This is the second time in NBA playoff history that four overtimes have occurred; the last time was in 1953.
The two sides continued to fight hard.
With 27.6 seconds left in the game, Millsap made a small throw. The ball bounced and then hit. The Nuggets led again 136-135. Hood, who was still physically strong, responded with a three-pointer, giving the Trail Blazers a 2-point lead, giving the Nuggets a 136-135 lead.
Kim stayed with 17.8 seconds.
Jokic caused a foul and unfortunately missed a free throw.
They fought hard for 4 overtimes, but it was this free throw that ultimately decided the outcome. After Trail Blazers Seth Curry made two free throws, the Trail Blazers led by 3 points. The Nuggets were intercepted after the ball was kicked, and they unfortunately lost.
In the end, the Trail Blazers fought hard at home and defeated the Nuggets 140-137 in 4 overtimes, leading the game 2-1 with a total score.
Both Blazers played more than 58 minutes in this game. CJ McCollum scored 41 points and 8 rebounds, Damian Lillard had 28 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, and Yonis Kanter had 18 points.
Maurice Harkless scored 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rodney Hood, who came off the bench, contributed at critical moments and scored 19 points.
Nikola Jokic played 65 minutes and contributed a triple-double with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists, Jamal Murray had 34 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and Paul Millsap had 17
He scored 13 rebounds, Gary Harris scored 13 points. Will Barton, who came off the bench, scored 22 points, and Malik Beasley scored 11 points.